On Monday May 2, we drove through Arkansas down to Louisiana again to spend a few nights in Cajun/ Zydeco country. The French/ Creole influence is still quite strong here.We stayed in Lafayette in the middle of the Bayou and drove around the area and did a swamp tour by boat. We saw lots of alligators and enjoyed some great bird watching. We tried all the Cajun cuisine including Gumbo, Jambalaya, Blackened Catfish and Alligator Bites.Cajun Music, which is not my favourite, is somewhere between Afrikaans "Sakkie- Sakkie" and Irish folk music with a touch of German "Om Pah Pah". Randol's Music Hall has line dancing and live music 7 nights a week. Prejean's is more laid back.
On Wednesday, we drove to Galveston, a Texas Gulf beach city full of retirees and the next day we visited the NASA Space Museum in Houston and spent the night in downtown Houston; not at all a touristy place but we had a good evening at House of Blues and a whiskey bar called Reserve 101. They have 320 different whiskeys and Neil was disappointed he could only taste about 3 or 4. He decided that he far prefers Rye Whiskey to Bourbon, which is too sweet.
On Friday we headed to Lockhart, Texas, the BBQ Capital of the World and chose Black's BBQ. (BBQ 5) We had the best brisket we have ever eaten and also the most amazing pecan dessert - think pecan pie minus the crust - just the gooey part full of nuts! Then it was on to Austin, Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World for 3 nights for the Pecan Street Festival. If New Orleans is known for Jazz, Memphis for Blues and Rock and Roll and Nashville for Country, then Austin is known for Rock. Our motel was walking distance from W 6th Street ( where a lot of the music happens) and despite some rain, we had 3 fantastic days/nights of music. We also had very good Tex Mex at Angie's and BBQ at Stubbs ( BBQ 6 ) Stubb's is legendary in Austin for a combination of good BBQ and good bands playing in a massive courtyard area! On Monday we visited the flagship Whole Foods - yes, Whole Foods originated in Texas - for delicious made to order sushi - yes, sushi in Texas! There are about 4 sit-down restaurants within the massive Whole Foods store. Perusing the shelves, we discovered foods "suitable for Flexitarians" which Vivienne later told me are kind of part time vegetarians?? Really?? Tommy's joke comes to mind- " I'm a vegetarian 22 out of every 24 hours!"
On Wednesday, we drove to Galveston, a Texas Gulf beach city full of retirees and the next day we visited the NASA Space Museum in Houston and spent the night in downtown Houston; not at all a touristy place but we had a good evening at House of Blues and a whiskey bar called Reserve 101. They have 320 different whiskeys and Neil was disappointed he could only taste about 3 or 4. He decided that he far prefers Rye Whiskey to Bourbon, which is too sweet.
On Friday we headed to Lockhart, Texas, the BBQ Capital of the World and chose Black's BBQ. (BBQ 5) We had the best brisket we have ever eaten and also the most amazing pecan dessert - think pecan pie minus the crust - just the gooey part full of nuts! Then it was on to Austin, Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World for 3 nights for the Pecan Street Festival. If New Orleans is known for Jazz, Memphis for Blues and Rock and Roll and Nashville for Country, then Austin is known for Rock. Our motel was walking distance from W 6th Street ( where a lot of the music happens) and despite some rain, we had 3 fantastic days/nights of music. We also had very good Tex Mex at Angie's and BBQ at Stubbs ( BBQ 6 ) Stubb's is legendary in Austin for a combination of good BBQ and good bands playing in a massive courtyard area! On Monday we visited the flagship Whole Foods - yes, Whole Foods originated in Texas - for delicious made to order sushi - yes, sushi in Texas! There are about 4 sit-down restaurants within the massive Whole Foods store. Perusing the shelves, we discovered foods "suitable for Flexitarians" which Vivienne later told me are kind of part time vegetarians?? Really?? Tommy's joke comes to mind- " I'm a vegetarian 22 out of every 24 hours!"
Randol's
The Bayou
Reserve 101 Bar
Black's BBQ
W 6th St, Austin
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